On the deserted corner
of Condemned and Death
there stands a neglected
rundown theater,
paint peeled and cobwebbed,
haunted by ghosts
performing dead drama,
on a dark   empty stage.

Tattered backdrops    rippled
in a draft
of undiminished silence.

Hushed applause     echo
from the sole seat
in the house,
where I sit
paralyzed in fear,
clenching my program,
blank    yellowing    pages.